Dhaka, February 21 Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin has criticized former sports advisor Asif Nazrul, alleging that he misrepresented facts and changed his position regarding the national team's participation in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Salahuddin added that it was extremely difficult for the players to accept their exclusion from the tournament, claiming that two members of the squad were emotionally devastated.
Nazrul, who served under Bangladesh's former interim leader Muhammad Yunus, had initially maintained that the decision not to travel to India due to security concerns was made by the government.
However, shortly before stepping down from his post, he stated that the decision had been made by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players.
"He told such blatant lies," Salahuddin told reporters.
"I am a teacher myself, and teachers generally lie less. That he would say such lies so openly – I honestly can't even imagine it. How will I even face the boys? He made such a U-turn."
Salahuddin suggested that the players had no role in the decision-making process.
"He is a teacher at Dhaka University. A person from the highest educational institution of my country saying such lies – we can't accept this. How can we accept this? He said one thing earlier and later took a U-turn," he added.
Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after they refused to travel to India for their games.
The BCB had proposed relocating Bangladesh's matches in India to co-host Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected the request and opted to replace the team instead.
Salahuddin added that the players were devastated to learn about their exclusion from the T20 World Cup.
"Look, when a boy goes to play in a World Cup, he carries his dream – his 27-year-old dream with him. You destroy that dream in one second," said Salahuddin.
"Fine, if it's a country's decision taken for national reasons, they will sacrifice for the country. But if you talk about loss, I will talk only about personal loss. Personally, you completely ended a boy’s dream. I know that two of my players went into a coma mentally for five days, completely lost," Mohammad Salahuddin added.
"For the sake of the country, I'm also ready to sacrifice many things, and the boys are ready too. But did I put my hand on a boy’s head and say, 'Son, you couldn’t play because of this?' If things had been communicated properly, I think many things could have been accepted," he added.